by Helene St. James, USA TODAY Sports

by Helene St. James, USA TODAY Sports

DENVER - Detroit Red Wings defenseman Niklas Kronwall is out indefinitely after a hit from behind left him concussed.

Kronwall was injured two minutes into the 4-2 victory Thursday at Pepsi Center when he was pushed into the boards by Colorado Avalanche forward Cody McLeod.

General manager Ken Holland told the Detroit Free Press that Kronwall has "a mild concussion," and also suffered cuts to his right ear. Kronwall was to continue on the trip with his teammates, who next play Saturday at Phoenix.

Kronwall, who was awkwardly positioned when impact occurred, spent several minutes on the ice being tended to by medical personnel before being removed on a stretcher.

"It was really scary hit, Kronner, he can't move for a few seconds," center Pavel Datsyuk said. "Everybody on the bench, like, can't breathe. But after they say he OK - not OK, but OK."

McLeod, a fourth-liner, was assessed a boarding major and a game misconduct. His hit will be reviewed by the NHL, and likely lead to a suspension by league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan.

That's of little consequence to the Wings, who don't know who long they will be without a crucial player. Generally, players have to be free of concussion symptoms for a week before being cleared. Defenseman Brendan Smith is expected to return to the lineup in place of Kronwall.

Players found out fairly quickly that Kronwall was up and about.

"He was out, he didn't really know what happened there," defense partner Jonathan Ericsson said. "He was out of it for a little bit. Then he was asking some questions. It was a little scary but we found out early he was fine and he was going to recover fine."

Forward Johan Franzen said, "it was really scary. It's never fun to see that. I was there when they took him off, and he seemed fine. He didn't want to get carried out."

Kronwall was turning, trying to get rid of McLeod, when impact occurred. "He's supposed to let up," Franzen said of McLeod. "I don't know if he didn't have time or what. We'll see what Mr. Shanahan has to say about it."